Romans 7:1-12
Divine Balance
Welcome!
Would you open your Bibles to...
2Ti 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Pray
Intro
√ “rightly dividing the word of truth” – it’s the mark of a well-taught and mature Christian. Notice also that it’s an abomination – or instruction for each of us from the Lord.
Why? Because there is so much about God, and His dealing with Men that will never fully understand this side of eternity.
We need to receive what God has revealed, and reject what man has revised!
Ex. The only things which we can know of God’s Nature, His existence, His dealings with people, and the Spiritual realm are those things which God chooses to let us in on!
Everything else is un-knowable!
Deut. 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
The point? There are things which only God knows, and If God doesn’t tell us – we can’t know them! For example…
Rev. 19:12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
Someone actually called in to “To every man an answer” and asked the hosts…
“what’s the name written?”
Duh – God doesn’t tell us!
√ How does that apply to our study this morning?
We need to rightly divide the Word of Truth which Paul shares here in the book of Romans…
…especially concerning the age-old argument between Grace and Law.
There’s something in our human nature which makes us want to go to extremes – a weakness that even Christians have!
Ex. Some would say…
“Since we are saved by grace, we are free to live as we please!”
That extreme view is called “license”.
Paul answered those people in Romans 6 by telling how to stop doing sinful things.
The other extreme looks at their relationship to God this way…
“We are saved by grace, to be sure; but we must live under Law if we are to please God.”
This extreme view is called “legalism”.
Paul deals with this group in Romans chapter 7.
Ap. Every growing Christian understands the experience of Romans 6 and 7!
You see, once we learn to…
Recognize your new life in Christ
Reckon the old man dead
Yield you body and mind to God’s will
Serve God with all your strength
…we begin to experience victory over the old habits of our flesh.
The problem is that we begin to feel that we are becoming more spiritual and start to set higher and higher standards for our own life and others!
Ex. We become judgmental and start to believe that God’s love for us and others is dependant upon our upholding this “law” which we’ve created.
√ The problem is that the legalist will always blow up.
Either in pride – that he/she is able to keep their law while other’s cannot.
Or…
Emotional and Spiritual destruction – recognizing that while they may be successful fixing the outward behavior – they can’t do anything about their sinful heart!
I’ve seen and experienced both!
√ Romans chapter 7 will help protect us and deliver us from legalism! By telling us how "not" to good things--not for
justifiable, etc…
The authority of the Law (vs. 1-3)
Rom. 7:1 Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?
Rom. 7:2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.
Rom. 7:3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.
√ Paul actually picks up his thoughts from…
Rom. 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
You’ll remember that in chapter 6 Paul used the illustration of a master and servant to help us understand how it is that we yield to Christ – by which we find victory over sin.
In chapter 7 Paul now uses the illustration of marriage to help us understand our new relationship to the Law because of our relationship (union) to Jesus Christ.
It’s a simple illustration – yet has profound application in our lives!
Ex. When a man and a woman get married they are united for life.
“The two shall become one flesh”
Marriage is a physical, emotional and spiritual union – but primarily it’s physical.
Therefore, only a physical cause can break that union – like death.
As long as they live, the husband and wife are under the authority of the law of marriage.
So, if the woman leaves her husband and marries another man – she is called an “adulteress” by the Law.
However, is her husband dies (don’t get any ideas!), then she is free to marry another man because she is no longer under the authority of the law of marriage.
Note – it is death
that set her free!
We died to the Law (vs. 4-5)
Rom. 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
Rom. 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.
√ At first read it would appear that Paul has confused the illustration – but he hasn’t!
Before we were saved we…
“when we were in the flesh” – vs. 5
…we lived under the authority of the Law – and were condemned by it!
However, when we trusted in Jesus as our savior we became united with Christ and died to the Law – just as we died to the flesh (Rom. 6:1-10).
Note – the Law didn’t die – we did!
But, in Paul’s illustration in vs. 1-3 it is the husband who dies – and the wife who married again!?
If you and I are represented by the wife, and the Law is represented by the husband, then the application doesn’t follow the illustration!
√ If the wife died…
…the only way that she could remarry is if she was to be raised from the dead!
Got it? Exactly – that’s the point that Paul is making!!!
Ap. When we trusted in Christ we died to the Law…
…but, in Christ, we arose from the dead and are now “married” (united) to Christ so that we can live a new life!
We are delivered from Law (vs. 6)
Rom. 7:6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
√ We are now united with Jesus – “married” to Him.
Our relationship to Christ is based upon love, not law!
Ex. Can you imagine what kind of a marriage you would have if it was held together by law, and not love!?
*That's exactly the kind of relationship the LEGALIST has with God (no joy, no peace, no assurance, no hope).
Phillips translates it more clearly…
Rom. 7:6 But now that we stand clear of the Law, the claims which existed are dissolved by our “death”, and we are free to serve God not in the old obedience to the letter of the Law, but in a new way, in the Spirit.
As Christians
we have no obligation to the Law!
Acts 15:5 But some of the sec of the Pharisees who
believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to
command them to keep the law of
Moses."
Acts 15:11 "But we believe that through the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they."
Acts 15:23 The wrote this letter by them:
The apostles, the
elders, and the brethren,
To the brethren
who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and
Cilicia:
Greetings.
Acts 15:24 Since we have heard that some who went out
from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, "You must be circumcised and keep the
law"--to whom we gave no such
commandment--
Acts 15:25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with
one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Acts 15:26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 15:27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who
will also report the same things by word of mouth.
Acts 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and
to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:
Acts 15:29 that you abstain from things offered to
idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will
do well.
Farewell.
No obligation
to keep the Sabbath wear certain clothes, keep your hair and beard trimmed.
We are FREE to
serve God out of the love in our heart rather than because we "have
to" because of the Law.
Ex. David
Rosalas and the Valentine gift. "I
don’t' want any gift that isn't given in love."
Ap. Your
presence here is VOLUNTARY--your service at your descretion..LOVE HIM!
Law good, sin bad! (vs. 7-12)
Rom. 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
Rom. 7:8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.
Rom. 7:9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.
Rom. 7:10 And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.
Rom. 7:11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.
Rom. 7:12 Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
Ex. An illustration which may help us to understand Paul’s thoughts here.
(Inherited from Adam)
Our lives are as a barren wilderness; sin is like a seed laying dormant I the soil of our souls; the Law is like water; the soul needs the water, yet the water also gives life to the seed!
√ Sin aroused by the Law
Ex. Peter B. and the clove!
Note that the sin Paul picks to illustrate his point; it's the LAST of the BIG 10!
It's also the only one which deals with the HEART-it's a "hidden sin".
Ex. The rich young rules-Mark 10:17-22
Perfect on the outside but Jesus touched the sin laying in his HEART!
Ap. The LEGALIST does a good job with maintaining an outward spirituality-but they alone know the secret sins within their heart!
Thus, the LEGALIST ultimately finds that the Law will kill him/her because they realize they can't fix their heart!
*Paul was the legalist and he testified that the Law "killed me" (vs. 11)
How? There's nothing worse (crushing) for the person who really sincerely wants to please God than to discover that one's HEART is permeated with sin!
The turmoil is all in your head-a private battle.
Ex. Martin Luther King trying to purge his heart by denying his flesh and harsh treatment.
Ex. Do something good for the Lord-only later to recognize that your motive was wrong! (Thus-no assurance of salvation because you missed the point that it's a work of God's Grace!)
Eze 11:19 "Then
I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take
the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh,
Eze 11:20 "that
they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall
be My people, and I will be their God.
Ap. That's the beauty and freedom of coming to understand that God loves you just the way you are! Only the Lord can give us a new heart.